Katie Luther: The Graphic Novel: Mother of the Reformation by Susan K. Leigh

Katie Luther was a former nun and the wife of the chief architect of the Reformation, Martin Luther. This book talks about her childhood, her time in the convent, and her life after leaving the convent. She worked tirelessly beside Martin Luther to care for her family and allow Martin to focus on his work with the church.

My thoughts:

If you’ve read the graphic novel from Concordia called Martin Luther: Echoes of the Hammer, you’ll notice a lot of similarities between these two books. Some of the illustrations are the same, as well as the information about Martin Luther which is pertinent to both stories.

Katie took her vows as a nun at age sixteen. She later read some of Martin Luther’s writings and started to question the accepted church doctrine of the time. Martin Luther actually helped facilitate the escape of Katie and several other nuns from the convent where they resided. Katie helped manage a couple of households before she and Martin married and started their own family life. She worked tirelessly to provide for her family, keep their large home provisioned and cared for, hosted many guests and students, and opened her home as a hospital when the plague swept through. Martin Luther’s work would not have been so successful without the support and unsung labors of his wife which allowed him to focus on the work of the Reformation. Like its companion book, this one is not without bias. However, it focuses more on Katie’s role than on the disputes between the Protestant and Catholic churches.

I recommend Katie Luther: Mother of the Reformation to kids who want to learn about the Reformation and those who contributed to its success.